Graduation Day

We are now proud graduates of childbirth class. The final class was pretty painless, except for the two-second shot of a cesarean during the video on breastfeeding. We also learned that if you get a c-section you automatically get anti-gas medicine. Fascinating. Our teacher also told the story of why she couldn't buy Mrs. Butterworth's syrup for years. Not quite as fascinating, but amusing. She was a good teacher and answered all the questions we had, but it was a strange class. There were probably 10 other couples, but over the four weeks there was zero socializing. Everyone just kept to themselves. Oh well.


It does feel like we're approaching the end. It seems that it could happen at any moment. Not that we're 100% ready, but I don't think we will be even if she arrives late. We haven't figured out a good child care option (yes, the waitlists are really that long), and the car seat is currently sitting sideways in the back seat of Nicole's car. But as far as stuff, we're just about set. I think a man-suitable diaper bag is about the only thing we're lacking right now. We finished off the registry at Target last weekend, including the hands-free breast pump. Here's the picture from the side of the box, definitely weird. They should have shown the lady with a cup of coffee in one hand and a cell phone in the other with a big smile. Nicole did NOT have a smile on her face when she saw this picture...




Speaking of breastfeeding, I finally got around to reading an interesting article from the Atlantic Monthly which examined research about breastfeeding versus today's common impression of it. Here's the link: http://www.theatlantic.com/doc/200904/case-against-breastfeeding. The title is a bit provocative, but I thought it was quite interesting especially if you can manage to put your beliefs or preconceptions aside while you read it. Just saying that makes it sound like a religious debate, but it does feel like it's approaching that level of emotion for a lot of people.

Another interesting angle mentioned in there is the fact that for at least the first month, Stetsi is really going to rely on her mama pretty much 24x7 and there's not a whole lot we can do to even the load between us. I think we realized that slowly over the course of the pregnancy, but it's definitely seeming more real as the time approaches. It will be interesting to see how we react, will Nicole have resentment that I'm relatively more free while she's having to spend so much time feeding, will I gradually expect that she'll gravitate towards doing more than she should around the house? Hopefully not on both counts, but I guess just being aware of these things is half the battle.